Category: Senior Living Facilities

Wander Management: Solutions for Assisted Living Homes  

Wander Management: Solutions for Assisted Living Homes   A woman holding a business card on a wooden door.

Ensuring the safety and well-being of residents is crucial in assisted living, memory care, and psychiatric facilities, but caregivers cannot always keep eyes on every patient. Wander management technology is one way for caregivers to monitor patients and their locations in the facility, without having to constantly watch them.  This technology is most commonly used in memory care facilities to prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia patients from wandering off or getting lost. It also assists in […]

Nurse Call Systems: Connecting Patients and Caregivers Through Technology

Nurse Call Systems: Connecting Patients and Caregivers Through Technology A woman in a hospital bed holding an electronic device.

Whether in a hospital, long-term care facility, or retirement home, most individuals have encountered a nurse call system at some point in their lives. While its purpose is simple – allowing patients to contact their nurse/nurse’s station easily – the elements that comprise the system are anything but. In fact, they can be quite complex.  […]

Plumbing Considerations for Today’s Senior Living Facility

Plumbing Considerations for Today’s Senior Living Facility An elderly couple is watering plants in their home.

Senior living facilities, no matter the type, require special design expertise to meet the needs of both residents and staff. In this blog, we explore how plumbing designers like VP’s Plumbing Design Manager, Adam Cross, pay careful attention to details in order best optimize a building’s plumbing systems. First: The Facility When designing for a […]

Mechanical Design and Today’s Senior Living Facility: Creating Homes Away from Home

Mechanical Design and Today’s Senior Living Facility: Creating Homes Away from Home A group of elderly people sitting in a living room with a wheelchair.

Today’s senior facilities are a far cry from the nursing homes of yesteryear. They focus on creating a community-based environment that fosters independence within home-inspired accommodations, all with the safety and well-being of their residents at the forefront. How then do MEP firms meet those demands from a mechanical stand point? Our Mechanical Design Controller, […]

The Power of “What If” In Designing Senior Living Facilities

The Power of “What If” In Designing Senior Living Facilities A nurse is helping an elderly woman at a dining table.

I’ve attended many conferences in my 15+ years in the MEP industry — the most recent being this year’s LeadingAge North Carolina annual conference and trade show in Myrtle Beach, SC. Of the hundreds I’ve attended, this conference was different.  Its theme — What If? — struck a chord with me.  They challenged attendees to […]

MEP Design Considerations Unique to Senior Living Facilities

MEP Design Considerations Unique to Senior Living Facilities A group of elderly people sitting around a coffee table in a wheelchair.

Since the last recession, the multifamily sector has contributed significantly to the boom in new construction.  The sector’s niche market — Senior Living — is a driving reason. As Baby Boomers age, the demand for senior living options has dramatically increased.  For those who don’t design Senior Living facilities, it’s easy to assume the design […]

Senior Living Design Trends to Implement Today

Senior Living Design Trends to Implement Today

It’s easy to see that senior living facilities are thriving: just look at the demographics and industry numbers. The anecdotal evidence is there too – I pass three new senior living construction projects during my commute to work. As the Vice President of Business Development, my personal knowledge of senior living design has become limited […]

How Lighting Illuminates More Than A Room

How Lighting Illuminates More Than A Room

Picture this: you’re at your desk, working on a project, stressing about the deadline. The phone rings, emails come in; it’s a typical day at the office. At some point, you look up from where you’re hunched over and glance outside. It’s beautiful. Cloudless and sunny. Instinctively, you feel the pull to go outside, to […]

Lessons Learned from the Environments for Aging Conference

Lessons Learned from the Environments for Aging Conference

Photo Credit: Environments for Aging For those who design senior living facilities, the Environments For Aging (EFA) conference is a must-attend. As an academic conference, those who attend learn about the latest senior living design trends and the data that set and guide those trends. Of all the conferences I have attended over the years, […]